Moments in Time
by missabi
Summary: was [understanding]. a series of tied together short stories, some looser than others, exploring jax and daxter's relationship and how it became what it is. among other more interesting things. [friendship!love jak'n'dax] [nopairing.]
1. Understanding

_doesn't own the boys, using without permission, hope to god the Naughty Dog doesn't mind._

note: abi believes strongly in friendship!love between jak and daxter and doesn't understand everyone's need for human!daxter's return. abi is slightly confused as this doesn't compute with her obsession for all things sexual, but shrugs as if to say 'whattya gonna do?'

note2: split up the paragraph contrasting daxter: human and ottsel; ya gotta tell abi when things aren't clear! thanks nicole silverwolf

note3: italicized lines start humandax and alternate between that and ottseldax.

* * *

.

"Daxter?"

"MMmm."

"Why did you ask the Precursors for pants?"

Silence. Both knew that wasn't the actual question.

"I thought that was obvious."

Intense look, eyebrow raised. 'If I knew that…'

Thoughtful frown, and a small orange paw scratches an equally orange-furred chin.

"Well, Jak… What reason would I have for wanting to be human?"

"Because…" that's what you were. No. Head shakes, dispersing those thoughts.

"Just think about it." Grin, greenblonde hair ruffled affectionately.

More silence.

_An awkward, clumsy friend. _

_The comfortable weight on his shoulder. _

_Unsure looks and uncomfortable silences filled with chattering words and wistful eyes. Touches that lingered. Expressions read, mind understood._

_Expressions read, mind understood. A fuzzy warmth curled around him in sleep: sharing his pillow, tucked against his side, in his shirt, on his lap, across his back, over his face. Closeness not allowed in normal friendship. _

_Hands that wanted to link, fingers that wanted to twine and **never** let go – but didn't, because that wasn't right. _

_Gentle, clawed paws that brushed wetness from his cheeks after every dream. And a form that fit so right in his desperate arms thereafter. _

_Uncertain hands that secretly wished to reach for shaking shoulders after the sometimes-nightmares that clouded his mind as a child unable to remember. Uncertain hands that didn't offer comfort because he was just so distant, and different, and sonothuman in those moments. _

But now they shared something, similar circumstances, almost.

And now they could be as close as their beings screamed for them to be without the whispers and jokes and rumoursofillicitaffairs.

Now it was okay because one of them didn't look human, but that was funny, because neither of them cared.


	2. Before the Fall

_disclaimer in first chapter._

note: set pre precursor legacy. abi knows the transporters were said to have been not working for 'quite some time,' but that's a pretty relative statement, in her mind. besides, she doesn't give jak'n'dax ages so it's possible for them to still be working.

note2: no editing, just spellcheck. off to school, now.

* * *

. 

Daxter sighed heavily and leaned back on his heels, absently rubbing the sweat dripping into his eyes off his forehead.

Precursors, was this annoying! He'd been scrubbing at the spill for what seemed like hours now, yet it seemed not to budge at all. Next time, he promised himself, he wouldn't let that strange jealously he got whenever Keira was close to Jak fluster him enough to walk smack into, well, it'd been Old Samos that time.

Old Samos who had just happened to be carrying some sort of Old Man Green Sage Experiment Crap (thought Daxter). And now a brownish green, incredibly sticky and gross substance was splattered practically _everywhere_ inside Samos' hut. It had also gotten over everyone that had been there at the time, too. But the others had left to wash up. Old Samos, of course, wouldn't let _Daxter_ wash off until _Daxter_ "removed the product of (his) stupidity from (Samos') house; you damned clumsy fool." Speaking of Old Samos…

"What do you think you are doing, sleeping on the job? I told you to **clean up** Daxter! That's all you've done? Look at the state of my floors, and goodness knows that wall isn't in any sort of decent shape. See what happens when you daydream, Daxter. Pay attention next time, I hope this is a lesson learned, although I doubt if you've not learned it by now that you ever will."

Uggh. Had Daxter said that everyone got splattered by the gross goop? Well, that was wrong. For some reason Samos hadn't been touched by the crap. What right did he have to complain? Daxter'd been scrubbing at the mess for three hours now, and was, of Jak, Keira, and himself, the one who'd gotten most covered in the strange substance.

"Who're you to talk, ya haven't cleaned your own house since the day I moved into this village!" Daxter shot back.

"Well, it's just fortunate, " Samos continued, ignoring him, "that I've decided not to stay in today. Keira and I will be going to visit with the Blue Sage."

At this point Daxter could hear light clomping on the wooden ramp outside, and perfectly clean, Keira entered the hut. She lugged a bag almost bigger than herself and dodged the muck on her way across the floor to her father.

"I've got it all daddy, are we going now?" She asked Samos. Samos nodded to her and drifted over to the teleporter.

"And this better be cleaned up by the time we get back!" He disappeared. Daxter stuck his tongue out at Samos' back.

"Daxter! That's not very nice." Keira admonished. She lugged herself and her bag over to the transport. "Daddy and I will be back around noon tomorrow, so you'd better be done by then." She stepped on the button and tossed the bag through.

"What, no goodbye hug?" Daxter asked with a grin. Keira look at him and his goo-laden form and winced.

"I don't think so." She disappeared too.

Daxter shrugged, trying not to think about how he'd just been brushed off. He looked down at the floor he'd been scrubbing and paused with his cloth in hand, hovering over a splotch of green/brown muck.

"Arrgh!" Splat. Cloth hit wall. He put his face in his hands. It wasn't fair. It had been an accident. It wasn't like he'd meant to walk into the stupid Sage. And he **hadn't** been daydreaming at the time, despite what Old Man green though. He'd been thinking – yes, Daxter was capable of thinking.

He'd been thinking about…

No! His fist hit the floor and he collapsed back against the wall.

He'd been thinking about the lecture Samos had given him. About…

He rubbed at his eyes with a scrunched up fist and smoothed his goo-laden hair back. He stared across the room at the opposite wall, the one with the window that looked over the water.

He'd been thinking about the lecture Samos had given him. About how he and Jak acted when they were together. Daxter had been all for ignoring it – after all, they'd been like that for years! Why should it change now?

Through the window, Daxter could see the sun low on the horizon, that'd make it late after noon. He let out another sigh, before getting up and moving to retrieve his rag to continue cleaning the house. He made it halfway across the room before the noise of steps on the bridge outside reached his sensitive ear. That could only be one person!

Daxter grinned, rag forgotten, and dashed out of the house.

"Jak! Whatcha doin' here?" He stopped short of embracing his friend when Jak recoiled at his movement, arms still poised open. Silence hung.

"Old Greeny talked to you too, didn't he." It wasn't a question. He dropped his arms and groaned. Jak looked at the ground.

"Damnit!" Daxter kicked the ground and headed back towards the hut, not caring really if Jak followed him or not (or so he thought).

And hand resting on his shoulder stopped him. He turned his head back slightly, expression still shuttered. Jak nodded his head towards the hut.

"Samos and Keira left already. They're not coming back until tomorrow." His eyebrows lifted in question at the small smile that spread across Jak's face.

"…what is it?"

Jak let his hand fall from Daxter's shoulder as he twisted around and pulled something from his bag. He held a rather large jar filled with bluish tinged white power looking stuff. The smile grew a little.

Daxter took it silently, wondering what it was, before he looked over Jak's now-clean form and it clicked. His eyes widened and his expression lifted.

"This is the stuff you and Keira used to get that green crap off, isn't it?" Jak nodded. "Aw, man, thank you! There is a god."

Forgetting, for the moment, Jak's earlier recoil, he quickly hugged his friend tightly before running off inside the house. Now he'd be able to finishing cleaning in time for him and Jak to watch the sunset from the watch towers down on Sentinel Beach.

He was too elated to even notice how stiff Jak had been in his arms.


End file.
